Midnight Shadows
by fighting-the-dark
Summary: Elena was born into the trade. Others were connected. This world is dirty, diseased, dying. Can Elena stop the new leaders and save what was once a beautiful land, where we could breathe? Or is the world to crumble and fall for a dreaded beginning?
1. Memories are deep down inside

**Important Notice**

This is based on the plots! The two see in the cross over are the main two which inspired me most. See if you can guess what else is in here ;)

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy. Fighting-the-dark ;)

"_**Get yourself back here now!" **_

"_**She's right, you don't have much time, get yourself back we can get them back another day! Just come back please!"**_

"_**No! I have to do this and you know that. If we leave now then he will get off completely free from harm 'cause he knows how to play us from now on, and, and, if I don't go now then we have no chance of saving this world." **_

Memories are deep down inside

During the day, everything is normal, or so you would think. At night the lock their doors, their windows and they cower in the corner hoping that they don't come. This is when the decisions, under cover in the darkness where no one can capture them because everyone is scared, and unaware. No royal family to protect us, they managed to drive that away. We thought we were insane thinking that we had made the wrong decisions, but we weren't the only ones. Sucked in by power, who isn't? "Everyone is equal we live among you, so why shouldn't the royals? Let them be stripped of that power to live like the people!" It sickens me to this day that I believe their lies. My father never trusted those bastards that we call "Red Royals". They have the blood on their hands for lives they sacrificed to get to this position hence the "Red" within their names and the "Royals" is because they have power over everyone in this country and nobody can do anything about it, or so they thought. Every day we know, we see that every move is crucial. Every decision we make is important to maybe thousands of lives or maybe to one. Many people say, "You kill one, and maybe, just maybe, you save a thousand."

"Hey, father how is Italy? Please tell me the _Carnivale di Venzia_ is still beautiful as the world should still be! The Reds are completely taking over the world!" Ah my father and his puzzling looks he gave me. It always shines some light down on this doomed planet even if you are the bearer of bad news. He was the founder of the "Midnight Shadows" he believes that the Reds were never up to any good deeds as they claimed, so my father gathered as many people as possible who believed the same and formed a clan of free spirits who work on the night to find out who the Reds are targeting next. I was born into the trade; ever since I was five I was running and jumping.

"I'm so sorry Elena but some of the Red Royals lackeys took over Italy while I was helping out Edward. Speaking of which he was asking after you yet again." Edward the ex, first he cheats on me then he expects me just to take him back like that. Please what does he take me for? My father understood the concerning look I was giving him as he said this. "Relax my child I told him to lay off, he hurt you deeply and I won't let him do that again mark my words. Argh"

"Dad? Are you OK? What's going on? Dad? Dad!" He put both his arms to his waist and held it tight. I didn't know what to do he had gone white as a sheet and was falling to the cold concrete ground. I shouted "Help! Can somebody help me please? It's my father" It was Jess and Ted came to me in my time of need. It was Jess who was the first to speak.

"Elena? Calm down and breathe and tell me what happened?" Ted slowly placed his arm around me. I know it was to reassure me but I swear the guy has such a crush on me.

"Ok, well we were talking and he just cried out in pain and placed his hands to his waist, then we went so pale so quickly he looked like a ghost." the tears of fear where coming, I could feel it. "Then he started to fall to the ground I think he fainted. Look is he going to be OK? He needs to know about the London massacre." Jess pulled up shirt to reveal some markings in his body "What is that Jess?" Jess gave me that look where she is telling us secretly that it isn't looking good, and at that precise moment I broke. It takes a lot for me to cry but this has done it. The gathering crowd looked in shock and horror to the markings on my father's body, as well as seeing the pain I was in. I was now urgent to know what the markings were. "Jess what are those and what are they doing to my dad?" She must have heard the worry within my voice. She walked to me and said these simple words.

"Go to bed my child, you must rest well in order to understand. I see a long journey for you Elena Douglas." She always did give me questions that I needed an answer to and I would normally ask her straight away but today I knew there was no point, so I went to bed like as she suggested. Even though with everything that was going on, I still slept well. Honestly I think Jess spiked my drink of water with a tasteless remedy which helps those in distress to sleep even a tiny bit.


	2. More than just a secret

"_**This isn't what I trained you for! You know that! So why are you walking away from all of this for something different? Life on the other side isn't going to be any better, they are just going to kill you the moment you step out of line and shove you right back out of here!"**_

Much more than a secret

The next morning I woke with energy and ready to take whatever the world throws at me. Jess came into my room and say down on my bed. "Hello Elena, slept well I can see you look refreshed. Now I trust you have questions about the markings I found?" I nodded. "Ok first of all they were the workings of a man named Michael Austin." She handed me a photo which had three male men in it and Jess pointed at Michael. He was the tallest of the three he also was the only one to have no hair and wore robes which suggested he was a priest of some religion. "Michael is not a religious man but instead is a strong believer in sacrifices. The robes you see him wearing are covered in blood. He is heartless and has no conscience he will do anything for money. He was the man who stabbed those markings into your father. The man on the right is Dr. Peter Irving; he chooses the weapons to use on a "patient" as he likes to call them and also the poison to make them survive long enough until they get back home. Finally the man on the left is Dan Pearsing; he is one of the Red Royals highest killers, assassins if you will. Obviously he chooses the targets that he believes are causing trouble with their plans."

"Yeah I know I have seen his handy work remember?" She looked from me to the quilt covers which lay on my bed. See what she had just brought up was the night my mother was taken from me and the scars they left behind on me. A circle with a triangle will forever remain on my forearm which no one has any idea what it means.

"Forgive me that was insensitive of me." She sounded so hurt by what she what just said to me.

"Relax Jess, its fine. Wait! You said poison? Did this Dr. Peter inject it into my dad? Is dad going to be OK?" Just as Jess was about to speak we were interrupted by Ted.

"Jess! There you are! We need you. Quickly it is Mr. Douglas." Ted paused for a moment to acknowledge that I was in the room. "Something is happening we think the poison has spread." Jess and I looked at each other scared and ran out of the room straight away to the hospital ward where my father lay. On arrival the first thing I saw was my dad. Jess had started rushing around asking for items which I had no idea where they were or what they were.

"I can't do this please just let me step back" Jess looked at me and nodded. I closed my eyes and only listened to the sound of the beeping life support. Beep. Beep. Beep. Then that dreaded noise where it is just a single tone which does not stop. Flat line. I opened my eyes and heard Jess.

"No! No! We're not letting you go yet Mr. Douglas. Starting CPR!" I looked at the rushing people barging past each other trying to save my father. "CLEAR!" Bang. "Nothing! Oh come on we can't lose you! CLEAR!" Bang. Jess looked at me and I knew it was over. He was gone. Time slowed down everything went black. Surrounded by darkness.

One week had past and I was still in deep denial. My father couldn't be dead I mean he was the strongest man I knew. He had survived gunshot wounds, stab wounds, you know name it he had survived it. So why was this so bad that it killed him, why? I was not on cloud nine, more like cloud minus nine-hundred. I couldn't live with the fact that my own father had such an untimely death. We know what we're getting in for when we enter this place, we all know what risks we make, but when it happens to someone so close...well you just don't want to believe it do you? I was staring at my wall with a single tear running down my cheek. Then Ted entered the room.

"Elena? Hey it's going to be OK. Your father he was strong, he inspired us all, and we will stand together in his honour. Fighting for him!" By this time he had already walked over to me and put his arm round my shoulders. Normally I would have moved it but I was in need of a hug and he was there for me, as he always is. Maybe I should be with him, I mean you want to be with a guy who is always there for you right? Then again he just isn't like me; we find it hard to talk in general because we have nothing in common. Plus there is something about him I do not trust. But still, I hugged him it made him happy and it made me feel like I was not alone. "Hey, shhh it's going to be fine trust me." Jess walked in and seen me in Ted's arms, crying. "They are ready for us Elena, are you ready?" I took a deep breath, nodded and stood up in my black dress and picked up my black hat while at the same time grabbing some tissues. I walked towards the door where Ted was standing. I began to feel very nervous about what was about to happen so I took Ted's arm in order to know I was not going to fall straight to the ground. At least this way I knew someone would catch me, the last thing my dad would want is me hurting my head. I wiped away the tears which had already fallen from my blood shot eyes and headed for the graveyard nearby.

Everyone, in black. They sky, in black. Those monsters hearts, black. Everything I know or saw at the moment was in black and the only thing which was clear to me was the tombstone which had written on it, "Dave Douglas, beloved father and devoted to everything in life. 1964-2010". I was not paying attention to anything which was happening at the funeral, instead I was thinking about all the great memories I have of my father. This depressed me even more because that's all they are now Memories. This of course brought on more tears which did not help my vision one bit, but at least a reassuring arm is always around my shoulders. "Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. You'll be missed Dave!" These are the only words I heard throughout the funeral, and then, I saw my father's body slowly decent into the ground.

"That's it he is really gone from this world. Forever!" I managed to say. Ted must have been the only one listening to my words of depression.

"What? No he is not, he will live on through us and you of all people should know that. He may be gone physically but spiritually he is always here with you. Memories are deep down inside"

"Then why does it not feel like that? All it does is hurt."

"It will for a while, but slowly and in time that wound will heal, then you can take on the world yet again" I began to feel a sudden rage deep down and was nearly shouting at poor Ted.

"I want them to pay for what they have done to you, them, my family and me! Of course I know it hurts now, I'm the one feeling that pain and suffering, and do not forget Ted I have already been through this. I will not let any of my family or friends die for nothing! They should not of got this far! You actually think it will heal over time? HA! That painful scream everyone heard when my mother died? That was the pain I felt then and now. I have just learned to live with it! But now this! This is not how it should end. It should end with the "Royals" out of the business and no longer in power! How did they get there in the first place? Lies. Well let us be better than them. We will win this!" With that I stormed away to my room, tears streaming down my face. As I walking, I did feel bad for shouting at Ted but I needed to blow off some steam, the anger which had built up inside of me. Besides I'm sure he will understand, he always does.


	3. Hidden Truths

"_**You think I' m crazy I know but at the end of the day, it's what I want and nothing more. You're not gonna make me change my mind just because of how you feel about this? Believe me I hope this doesn't get in the way of our friendship"**_

"_**It's not our friendship I'm worried about anymore, it's our lives!"**_

Hidden Truths

It took me several weeks to recover from the hurt deep down inside of me, but now I was ready to get back into the action, get back into training and stop feeling so sorry. My dad wouldn't have wanted me to be laying around looking at the memories. He would want me running around, like I was trained and even born to do! I was looking out of the window when Jess entered my room.

"Ah, Elena you're awake and dressed!" Ted walked in shortly after Jess and the sight of me actually opening the curtains must have pleased him considering he said that I might become a vampire if I stayed in the dark not eating anything for any longer. I laugh now, although back then it didn't really seem so funny. "It is so nice to see you out of the dark. No doubt there is a smile spread across Ted's face is there not?" I nodded and Ted actually went slightly red, I've never before seen him red, Jess and I both laughed, which seemed to make Ted want to hide behind the door frame, however it so wasn't working. "It's OK Ted were done mocking you, you don't have to hide anymore. Anyway Elena what do you say to some breakfast and get you back onto the course?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! I would love that so much, and you have no idea how much food is appealing to me right now!" I was smiling so much I could not believe it. I felt like I was back on Earth, and even though it's still a horror filled place, for once in this building there is happiness.

"Wonderful! I will see you down there soon. My son has something to say to you in "private" apparently. Don't keep her long, sweetie, her stomach is in much need of filling!" Ted yet again had gone red, this must be something big. Jess walked out of the room closing the brown wooden door behind her. When it slammed shut, Ted took a deep breath and started walking towards me. Is he shaking? It sure looks like he is! I had to ask if he was OK, but he did not answer my question and carried on walking towards me slowly. When he had finally reached me, I was breathing deeply, I think I'm as nervous as he is. He took my hands and simply said to me.

"You look so much more beautiful in this light, a lot better than from when you were hiding under your quilt in the darkness. I can see your gorgeous face." I hadn't noticed that he had moved even closer to me. How did I not notice that our noses were practically touching? I knew what Ted was going to do before he even did it; the thing was I'm not sure if I wanted this. Not yet anyway. I was so nervous all I couldn't speak, but I managed eventually.

"Thank you, it's good to know I actually look good for once." A typical me answer, but what can I say I have never been this close to a guy before.

"Elena, you always look good, in fact you look more the good you look amazing." Now I was lost for words and all I could do was smile. I think Ted took that as an opportunity to put one hand on my waist, and the other on the left cheek of my face moving my hair out of my eyes. What could I do in return but put my hands on his waist? He was slowly stroking my cheek with his hand, and after what seemed like an eternity of staring into his big brown eyes, Ted took a deep breath and moved his face towards me so slowly. This was it. Did I want this? Was I ready for this? I closed my eyes and waited for him to touch my lips with his. This seemed like even longer, waiting for him to kiss me, what I didn't realise was that I was really wanting to kiss him! I actually said out loud by pure accident was;

"Ted, will you just kiss me already." Our lips touched, and I couldn't believe the feeling and adrenaline that was rushing through me so fast, it was like a waterfall. I pulled him closer to me without realising this myself. I didn't want to let go. But at the back of my mind there was something shouting out loud saying "This isn't what you want, you're only doing this because you have come from a bad place and he is always liked you and you know it! You're only making him happy!" With that I stopped the kissing and turned round. I was out of breath and needed to remember where I was. Ted put his arms around my waist. I had to move them away, but I didn't want to hurt him. "Ted I'm sorry. I truly am, but I don't think this is right. I mean I have just come from an awful place and I don't want us to be that way. I'm sorry." Ted's arms moved away from me and he moved in front of me so I could see his broken face. "I'm so sorry Ted I didn't mean to lead you on like that, I thought it's what I wanted but, it isn't."

"Then why did you kiss me back? Why did you shove me away so fast? Is there someone else? A voice in the back of your head, saying no? Were good friends Elena and you know that, so why can't we at least be more? A good friendship always leads to a good relationship." He was virtually in tears.

"Look Ted, I'm sorry, but I can't see us like that. I see us being best friends but that's it. I know that a good friendship leads to a good relationship but sometimes that isn't the case I mean you seen Tom and Jane. Best friends not as long as us, and they just did not work out at all! In fact they are still mending the pieces, that was four months ago! I don't want that to happen to us. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy that kiss. I mean it was amazing, that's going to be good when you find a girl.

"Why can't that girl be you?"

"Because Ted I'm not right for you. I will just hurt you, I know I will. Look I'm so sorry, but I hope we can remain friends. Anyway I thought you had a girlfriend?" Ted's face looked shocked that I knew he had a girlfriend. Then he suddenly went pale in the face.

"Yeah I did but I dumped her for you. I'm crazy about you Elena" Just at that moment the door swung open and Pandora came in.

"How dare you! Hi Elena, did he tell you he dumped me?" I nodded "Humph! Well that's a lie and a half! No he never dumped me, but I'm dumping him. You actually kissed Elena? I mean I knew you liked her but I thought it was more for her body than anything! You were just trying to get her because she was vulnerable or something like that?" Now I was angry at him.

"Ted, what the hell do you think you're playing at? You told me you had dumped her! What you were trying to score two girls is that it? Or be the first to get someone into bed? We all know you guys have a bet on." My hands were on my hips, I was holding them tight just to stop from punching Ted. "Pandora I'm sorry I thought he didn't have a girlfriend but I wasn't thinking about that at the time and thank you. You made this a lot easier to say. Hey Ted you're not my type OK, you're so immature it is actually unreal! I never want to be with you, I did only want to be friends. Pandora I'm sorry. I hope that this doesn't get in the way of our friendship, we need to stand together."

"Relax Elena, it's not your fault you didn't know! Trust me this will make us stronger friends, both of us loathing the same person."


End file.
